


Reader-Inserts: A Guide & Background

by DarthSuki



Category: No Fandom, Reader-Insert - Fandom
Genre: Essays, Guides, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 23:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16106219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthSuki/pseuds/DarthSuki
Summary: For many stories, one of the most important aspects is writing a main character to which whom the reader can relate to. Being able to empathize with the characters within a story is important, as a connection is what helps the reader feel invested in the media itself.With one sub-genre of literature, it goes even a bit more literal than that. “Reader-Insert” is a term that can mean a great variety of things. It is used as an adjective, a genre, and for some people who have been apart of the internet and fandom community, something that may even be looked at negatively.This guide is to try and offer some insight and constructive help for those who are new to the term or simply want the point of view from someone else who is active in the community





	1. Introduction & Background

For many stories, one of the most important aspects is writing a main character to which whom the reader can relate to. Being able to empathize with the characters within a story is important, as a connection is what helps the reader feel invested in the media itself. Tense action, dramatic arguments, slice-of-life moments of domesticity--they all share that aspect of being able to connect with the characters, and therefore finding appeal from the reader and audience.

With one sub-genre of literature, it goes even a bit more literal than that. “Reader-Insert” is a term that can mean a great variety of things. It is used as an adjective, a genre, and for some people who have been apart of the internet and fandom community, something that may even be looked at negatively.

This guide is to try and offer some insight and constructive help for those who are new to the term or simply want the point of view from someone else who is active in the community. This is not to serve as an end-all product, and not at all as a set of rules that every writer should be forced to follow--writing, language and stories will always be evolving, and everyone does it differently!

I (Daniel, aka Darthsuki) have been writing for over a decade now, and have been writing reader-insert and similar work since 2012. In those six years, I’ve run multiple writing blogs across many fandoms and have accrued a lot of experience that I simply want to share with others.

 **That said, this document is also intended to be organic.** Reader-inserts as a media topic and subgenre is relatively new, and there isn’t as much internet history about it as other fandom culture. If you would like to contribute to this guide, find an error or have a resource to share, please let me know!

* * *

  **What is a ‘reader-insert’?**

To put it in the most simplest terms, a reader-insert is any form of media where the main character is depicted to be or act as the reader themselves. Most commonly, this is found in written works, usually fanfiction, and is commonly written in the second-person perspective (you, your, yours). It isn’t unusual, however, to find similar works that are original fiction or are written in other perspectives--the most important factor shared between the descriptions above that the main character is written or designed so that the reader can insert themselves into the story.

For some, this means writing a very ambiguous reader character that can appeal to a wide audience. For others, this means identifying a sex, gender and/or partial appearance to the character. This still counts as a reader-insert as long as the intent is for the character to be a placeholder of sorts for the reader themselves to fill. Most often, the reader character will NOT have a name designated in the media, but they may sometimes have a title or nickname depending on the nature of the work itself.

* * *

  **History of the Reader-Insert Genre**

There is very little information on the historical relevance of reader-insert media within fandom and internet culture. This could be due to several reasons, the most important being the negative connotation that reader-inserts (and related, self-inserts) had in fandom culture in the early years of the internet.

Despite this, many people give some nod to a popular series of books, [ “Choose Your Own Adventure” by Paul Granger ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure), which began printing in 1979.

From Wikipedia:

 

> **Choose Your Own Adventure** is a series of children's [ gamebooks ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebook) where each story is written from a [ second-person ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-person_narrative) point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based upon a concept created by [ Edward Packard ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Packard_\(writer\)) and originally published by Constance Cappel's and [ R. A. Montgomery ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._A._Montgomery)'s Vermont Crossroads Press as the "Adventures of You" series, starting with Packard's Sugarcane Island in 1976.
> 
> From there, little information is known about the specific relevance of reader-inserts in fandom culture, but it isn’t a stretch to understand their appeal. Much like the self-insert, reader-insert work allows for an interpersonal relationship with beloved characters, but since it is not restricted to a very specific character (like a self-insert) it is more commonly written and shared to some degree.

This section will be expanded as more information is found or shared from readers.

* * *

  **Resources on Reader-Inserts**

[ Darthsuki’s Reader-Insert Survey: ](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdxI9_uwwKjO1rK_1j8i0Kqqs683JfHxj8ByOSbKdkDO0P9Gw/viewform) A survey open to collect modern information about demographics, preferences and personal likes/dislikes when it comes to the reader-insert subgenre of fiction. The results of the survey are open to see for those who are curious.

**History / Background**

  * [“Reader-Insert” on Fanlore](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Reader-Insert)
  * [“Fandom & Internet History” on Fanlore](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_and_the_Internet)
  * [“Self-Insert Fic” on TV Tropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SelfInsertFic)
  * [“Quizilla” on Fanlore](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Quizilla)



**Metrics and Data**

  * [Fandom Stats by ToastyStats (Destinationtoast)](https://archiveofourown.org/series/60910)
  * [More Fandom Stats, ToastyStats (Destinationtoast)](http://destinationtoast.tumblr.com/stats#au)
  * [Ultimate Guide to Fanfiction Sites by Joanna Smith](https://medium.com/@joannasmith008/fanfiction-428029544a12)
  * [Where should I post my Fanfiction by Cecil Wilde](https://fanslashfic.com/2015/11/21/where-should-i-post-my-fanfic/)
  * [AO3 Census: Survey of 10k Users by centrumlumina](http://centrumlumina.tumblr.com/post/63208278796/ao3-census-masterpost)



**Helpful Tools**

  * [InteractiveFics by silencethroughwords](http://interactivefics.tumblr.com/about)
  * [Fandom Stats Tool (AO3-specific)](http://fandomstats.org/)




	2. Capturing the Imagination: The Reader Character

Whether you’re writing them for fun or for profit, understanding how to market your writing, specifically within the reader-insert community, can help you understand, develop, and expand your writing and how you mold your stories themselves.

For some people, this section may be somewhat useless--and that’s okay! Writing for some is simply a hobby to be enjoyed, and some writers don’t care how many people end up reading their work. For those who would like some insight on marketing, this is simply the experience and opinion of one writer who has been creating reader-insert media for several years.

To start with understanding the finer points of marketing and such, you have to begin with the most important aspect of a reader-insert work: the reader themselves.

* * *

 

###  **The Reader as a Character, Personality**

If you had to name the single-most important thing about the topic of reader-inserts, most people would say ‘the reader’, and that would technically be true. The selling point of the genre is absolutely the reader! But, taking a step deeper, it’s  _ how  _ you go about writing the reader character that will ultimately draw people in. 

In my survey, 44% (approximately 40 responders) of people rated that the personality of the reader character is at least somewhat important to them, and that entirely makes sense. Everyone is unique in how they view and interact with the world, and it makes sense that they would hold some love for a reader character that matched them to some degree.

Trying to make your reader characters unique can be challenging. Too much distinct personality can alienate some readers whose personality differs greatly, and too little can make them very bland and uninteresting--as a writer, finding a balance is key. 

The goal is simply to make your reader character interact with the world around them believably, but to do so in a way that doesn’t wholly alienate your readership. 

Simply put, readers (the people themselves) can sometimes get bored or disinterested with characters who use the same archetype or personality from one work to another, but can be dissuaded if the personality doesn’t match their own to some level. This may not be true for everyone, so it’s important to know what you feel most comfortable in writing and the kind of audience you want to appeal to!

[ There are a multitude of character archetypes to use as a base to work from if you’re interested to do so. ](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArchetypalCharacter) Try looking at your own writing, or the writing of others, to see  _ how  _ the reader character’s personality is written, and figure out how you felt about it yourself. Did you like if it matched your own attitude? Did you not like it if it differed? 

Take that internal feedback to heart and try to use it with your writing, whether you choose to use yourself or character archetypes (or something else entirely) as an inspiration for how you write your reader characters. Regardless, the most important thing is to have heart in what you’re writing. 

There’s no hard right and wrong way to develop a reader character, and in the end a lot of writers love this genre because it’s as much for themselves as it is for others, so have fun with it! In the end, if you have fun writing your character a certain way, then don’t differ, take what you’re good at and love and own it as best you can.

* * *

 

###  **The Reader as a Character, Gender and Sex**

A step down from personality, the gender and sex of your reader character are often somewhat important things for your audience (usually moreso important than the personality itself, especially in erotic works). Being able to connect with a reader character in terms of their sex or gender (or lack thereof in the case of neutral characters) is something that can draw or push away readers. 

For example, I am a trans male. While I have no issue with reading female gendered characters, I am drawn to works that have a male reader character, and moreso a trans male character. Male reader characters were actually a large stepping stone into learning my gender expression, and I’m certainly not the only one who uses reader-inserts to explore gender expression. Some writers (and readers) may notice this social complexity, though it is not at all a bad thing to have a preference in the gender or sex that you write, if you specify it at all. 

**The most important thing is to write what you know and feel comfortable with** . Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t want to write something if you’re not comfortable with it or if you have no interest in the topic. I may be comfortable to write a variety of sexes and genders, but that isn’t true for all writers--dysphoria, for example, can make it impossible for someone to comfortably write a particular sex or gender. 

Sex is, on one hand, a tricky trait to work with. Some writers always specify genitalia, and some leave it vague on purpose. This question of specification or not is almost ALWAYS prevalent with erotica or works that include sexual activities. While specifying a reader-characters sex can certainly lead to a more detailed encounter, keeping it vague allows for more people to indulge in the fantasy at a cost for said detail. 

It’s up to you, the writer, to decide what direction you want to go with, and there is certainly no wrong answer--the reader character is yours to mold, with the end-goal being an invitation for someone else to step into their shoes and experience a moment away from the world, in a story that is open enough for them to enjoy as the main character.

* * *

 

###  **Being (Gender and Sex) Neutral**

Gender and sex can be as important as you (the writer) want it to be. Typically, you may not even need to specify either trait of the reader character if your work is done in the second person perspective (You, Your) and especially if the work itself is not erotica or smut. 

In this case, you don’t really need to give it much thought--the reader certainly won’t. When given vague or no details at all to the characters gender or sex, most people will simply insert their own with no help needed from the writer. 

For writers that are new to the subgenre, there is certainly nothing wrong with being neutral in your work--you don’t  _ need _ to specify your characters sex or gender for the audience to connect with them, it’s not inherently a requirement, and sometimes it's much less stressful to leave the gender and sex as an unspoken detail.

The best way to tackle the genre, as I have come to learn, is to write either in first or second-person perspective. This means that you almost never have to specify gender, and only rarely may have to specify sex--it is the most easy way for new writers to try their hand at reader-insert works, as writing in third person almost requires you to assign a pronoun to the reader’s character (even if it is a neutral ‘they/them’, some people still find that distancing).

Try to figure out where you feel most comfortable in writing your reader-characters. Do you prefer writing in first person? Second person? Do you feel most comfortable specifying a sex but not gender? Asking these sorts of questions and figuring out what you write best is important in finding where you are most comfortable in the community.


	3. Where to Publish Reader-Insert Works

There are a LOT of places to publish your written work nowadays. Tumblr, deviantArt, Archive of our Own, Wattpad and Fanfiction.net are only a handful of what's available to writers who want their work to be seen by others. While there are a lot, some of these options were never made with writing in mind for the type of media that the website would properly support.

For example, if you wanted to read a specific type of fanfiction, where would you turn to first?

According to my survey and my own experience with other people in fandom, the top two websites generally are Archive of our Own and Tumblr, which make plenty of sense when you think about it--Tumblr is a huge source of fandom-related content for a lot of people, and Archive of our Own was designed from the ground up to be a safe place for people to publish their written works (among others) after the [ downfall of Livejournal ](https://www.dailydot.com/culture/livejournal-decline-timeline/).

My personal opinion may vary from someone else, and there really isn’t any ‘right’ way and place to publish your reader-insert work. As with all things on the internet, you aren’t obligated to show your creations in any specific way. That said, in my personal opinion and experience, the social media that I commonly post my reader-insert work is (in order of influence):

> **[Archive of Our Own](https://archiveofourown.org/about) **

Since its creation in 2007 by the Organization for Transformative Works, Archive of Our Own (also known as AO3) has become a well-known archive source for all fandom-related works. Though it can support far more than written works, it is commonly known for its vast number of fandom-based written works across an almost innumerable number of fandoms and communities. It supports an organized tagging system to find specific works and, with third-party extensions, can be curated by each viewer of the website to show what they are interested in reading.

> **[Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/about?) **

Tumblr was created in 2007 by David Karp, and was quickly accepted by many fans as an alternative fandom platform following the decline of Livejournal, which formerly had been considered the hub for all things fannish across the internet. As a platform, tumblr serves as a linear microblogging platform designed for multi-media posts, but does not serve well for long written works. Despite this, tumblr has seen a strong growth in fandom communities (and fanfiction) with many of them finding creative ways to post, market and share their written works most effectively with the design challenges of the social media platform.

> **[DeviantArt](https://about.deviantart.com/) **

One of the oldest platforms on this list, DeviantArt was founded in 2000 and quickly grew to one of the biggest art platforms on the internet. It accepted all forms of visual art, but written works didn’t receive much love or attention in the platform’s design until recent years. Though it may not have as large of a general fandom presence in the same way that tumblr is, the design of the website can be friendly for the publishing and archiving of written works (as it is not a linear platform). Many groups and networking resources have surfaced within deviantart to help viewers find written works, reader-inserts included.

> **[Fanfiction.net](https://www.fanfiction.net/) **

One of the oldest organized fanfiction archives to date, fanfiction.net (also known as FFN) was founded in 1998 by Los Angeles computer programmer Xing Li, who also runs the site. Largely regarded as one of the first platforms that new writers used prior to the founding of AO3, FFN supports a wide variety of fandoms and content. While it has a lot of brand recognition and a large archive of posted fannish works, it does not officially allow for the works of certain copyright holders, nor does it allow for explicit-rated works nor interactive (reader-insert) work. While the two latter-most content can be published, the content can be reported and removed.

> **[Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/about/) **

Equal parts posting platform and community of readers, Wattpad was founded by Canada natives Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen om 2006. While it leans more towards original written works and intends to be an online publishing avenue for those intending to publish their stories, there is also a very large fannish community on the platform as well.

* * *

  **Tackling the Stigma**

Early in its life on the internet, reader-insert fiction was considered with many of the same stigmas as self-insert fiction. Whether this is tied to the sexism found in early female-oriented fandom and communities or not, these stigmas have progressively fallen away in recent years (but are still very much a challenge and issue in many fandoms and communities).

The internet has become a very wide, diverse place, moreso than what existed in the late 90’s and early 00’s. Because of this, the perception and stigma against such ‘insert’ works have fallen to the wayside and have even garnered a lot of their own communities across many of the platforms mentioned above.

As with most of fanworks, reader-inserts is just another form of self-expression, creativity and joy for many fans and writers alike. Not only does it carry the satisfaction that all fanfiction does, it allows allows for a writer and reader a level of self-indulgence rarely found in other media forms. For some, it can even be a form of self-exploration, especially in the case of gender.

Tackling the negative stigmas attached to the reader-insert community at large is done by understanding largely that there is nothing wrong with enjoying it--fanworks in general are a fantastic form of exploration and self-expression, and reader-inserts (as well as self-inserts) are certainly no different in their emotional benefit to readers and writers alike.


	4. The Mechanics of a Reader-Insert

When it comes down to it, there really is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to write. There are perspectives and styles, sure, and there are some general rules to make sure that a message to your readers is more-or-less conveyed coherently, but there is a vast amount of creative freedom when it comes to writing reader-inserts as there is with any other written work.

With that in mind, there are certainly some things to consider when writing reader-insert work. The topics below are less ‘rules’ and more guidelines or topics to consider--every writer is different and uses a different style that they or their audience may enjoy. From one writer of the community to another, however, below are some topics that are important aspects to keep in mind when writing a reader-insert work. 

* * *

  **To Y/N or not to Y/N**

When writing a reader-insert work, the goal is to help the reader feel as immersed into the writing and character as possible. That said, the logical conclusion would be to help the reader insert themselves as best as possible, such as including cues towards their physical appearance and, most commonly, their name.

I am unaware of any official term for these, but I have come to call them ‘insets’ as they are inserting various basic information about a reader into a piece of reader-insert work. Some of the most common ones are Y/N (Your Name), H/C (Hair Color), E/C (Eye Color) and thensome.

The original idea would be that readers, upon moving the written work into a text-editing document, could replace the insets with their own information to make the fic as immersive as possible. Though the logic behind these insets were understandable, many quickly came to find that they were sometimes more annoying and jarring, especially when someone didn’t have access to a text-editor or the time and energy to copy-paste a written work just to replace the insets.

Currently, there exists various browser extensions that can help curtail these issues and allow a more seamless reading experience, such as [ InteractiveFics by silencethroughwords](http://interactivefics.tumblr.com/about).

Despite the resources available to make insets a viable style while writing a reader-insert work, an important question to ask yourself is this: _‘do I really need them to make my writing immersive for the reader?’_. While it may seem counterintuitive at first, not having insets actually make your work, generally speaking, more immersive.

Most people don’t have the time or ability to replace Y/N with their first name, especially if they don’t want to install an extension on their web browser or the like.

Think of it like this: a person knows what they look like and what their name is, trying to _remind them_ through the work can often disrupt the flow of the work itself. Where it may be very important to know the appearance of a character in a non-reader-insert work, it’s far less so for a reader-insert.

The importance of the latter is in the experience that you’re trying to craft for the reader, so there’s little need to place any importance on making sure that you’re describing the color of their hair or eyes accurately: the reader will do all that hard work themselves without realizing it, conjuring an image of themself in the writing without any insets or forced descriptors pulling them from that immersion.

When polled, 60% (68 people) felt either neutral or disliked the use of insets in reader-insert work. Almost 10% of people further said that they refuse to read works with them, largely due to the jarring nature of the insets scattered around most reader-insert works. Suffice to say, while they can be ignored if not replaced, there is a fair number of people who feel they are less immersive than more--but it comes down to the writer understanding when or when not to use them.

As with all things, it’s up to the writer to decide to use insets or not, and further _how_ to use the insets and the level of detail they wish to have in their work. Do your best to understand _why_ you’re using insets to make your work immersive--take advantage of them when you know you can use them best (if you choose to use them at all!).

* * *

 

**It’s all about Perspective**

****

In writing, perspective is typically used to describe from where the story is told. Most commonly, the perspectives we read are: first (I, Me, My), second (You, Your) and third (he/she/they).

There is a lot of personal choice when it comes to picking a perspective to use in writing, and a lot of it comes down to what an author wants to convey; a story about the inner emotional struggle of a character may be less powerful if told in third person than from first, and so on.

For reader-insert works, the most common perspectives are _typically_ second, then first, and very rarely third. This is due to the fact that, in a third-person perspective, the reader (person) is distanced from the reader (character), making it very hard for them to be immersed into the carefully-crafted world you’ve made. Combined with the fact that you’ll have to have a defined pronoun for the reader and it can make it a struggle to accomplish what you originally set out to do.

Most of the time, second or first-person perspective will be the best choice when writing reader-insert works. Both perspective choices do not require you to define a pronoun and it can be more immersive, but you’ll have to make sure you’re not dictating too much of a reader-character’s internal thoughts. This ties into balancing a character with personality without making them distinct enough to be an original character in their own right.

If you don’t currently write in first or second person, switching to either of these perspectives can be a little jarring--for a lot of readers, it can feel a little claustrophobic when you’re restricted to the senses and thoughts of one character, but this it is easy to get used to with practice. 

* * *

  **Down ‘n Dirty: Writing Sex**

For some writers (such as myself) some of the biggest themes that they write about are sometimes some of the trickiest things: sex. While keeping a reader-character gender neutral isn’t too difficult of a task, some writers aren’t sure whether it’s important to use a specific set of genitalia or to try and keep it unspecified as well; either one has it’s benefits and drawbacks overall, and it comes much to the preference and comfort level of the writer themselves.

When specifying a reader-character’s sex, a writer does have the benefit of being able to be particularly detailed when it comes to the physical activity. They can rely a bit more heavily on a set physical anatomy (at least to some extent) and can focus a bit more on the interaction between the reader-character and anyone else included in the scene.

The drawback to specifying a sex is that it can alienate some readers (but this is inherent no matter what). DMAB readers may not be inclined to read about a DFAB reader, and likewise the other way around. This isn’t so much a challenge to overcome, as these sorts of personal details are sometimes a great benefit, especially when writing erotica.

Being neutral about the reader-character’s sex can have it’s advantages. For example, you are able to be the most inclusive about readers of all sexes and can be more general in your writing style and vocabulary. For some, this may be useful for achieving a certain mood for the writing, especially when the sex isn’t a focus of the story (or if you’re looking for more romance and less erotica).

By not specifying a sex, however, a writer has to make up for that lack of detail in other ways. This could be a good way to focus more on the emotions and feelings of the reader-character, for example. A writer should also take into account the scene itself and how not specifying the reader-characters sex may hinder or help the mood or activity they are trying to achieve.

Some writers, depending on their time and desire, write two versions of any sex scenes within a reader-insert work (or have two versions of a oneshot, for example). This is certainly an option, but it’s up to you as a writer to decide if you’re willing to write separate versions of a story (especially if it’s longer than a single chapter).

* * *

  **Tropes and Common Themes**

Like with any category of writing, reader-insert work has a variety of tropes and common themes seen in many published works. At its heart, tropes are not meant to be a negative thing, but instead represent a common idea or style in character, plot or setting within a community (sometimes even fandom specific). Tropes are popular for a reason, and often times within the reader-insert community they are popular simply due to the fact that they are comfortable and familiar for both the writer and reader.

This section will be expanded as more information is written or shared from readers.

* * *

**In Closing**

I hope that this guide has helped in your understanding or perspective about the odd, fun and rather self-indulgent type of creative writing. Whether you’re a new writer or one who’s been doing the craft for years, you’ve undoubtedly come across reader-inserts in some way in your time on the internet (whether you’ve read them yourself or are familiar with their importance in the culture of internet fandom).

If you feel that I’ve missed any important topics, or if anything can be expanded upon in this guide, please don’t hesitate to contact me--I want this to be as useful and open-minded as can be with the input of other writers, many of which may have a different perspective and experience with interactive fiction than me.

No matter what, remember that reader-inserts, like any writing, are something to be done for yourself before anything else. If there’s anything that I learned in my years of writing experience (primarily non-commission writing experience), you should always write what you love and write for yourself. Go out there and create some amazing things!

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in finding me on other social media platforms, I'm darthsuki on tumblr and deviantart!


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